Osama Saeed's blog

08 May 2007

Veils on the buses

Lothian buses made an unprompted announcement last week that drivers would have to check the identity of anyone with a bus pass wearing a veil.

A more pointless directive there can scarcely be. There are hardly swathes of ladies wearing the veil in Edinburgh, much less using the buses. I can't imagine in the current climate of hostility that there are many people donning a niqab simply to dodge a bus fare.

It seems reasonable for a bus driver to ask people wearing a face covering to move it aside to check their identity. Isn't that the point of having a photo identification on the travel card?

If I went on a bus wearing a mickey mouse mask and presented a photo travel card I would be asked to do the same.

The veil is well known to be a cultural phenomenon and has no role in the practice of Islam. Indeed the wearing of a veil is a personal choice in the expression of Islam - but one that everyone knows is a rather extreme choice to make.

Turkey has made itself clear on the use of the veil in civic society. If a very small section of Scottish society wish to cling to their fundamental Pakisani versions of Islam then that is their choice. Isn't it becoming clear that this choice is creating a enclave within Scotland and not a cross cultural integration.

Idf the choice of the Pakistani community is not to integrate into mainstream Scottish culture and society then I think it and its followers really have no future in this country and should consider their position and perhaps relocate to an appropriate Mulsim society.

Of course, the actual matter itself is trivial - a few pounds of a bus fare, at most. But if a company that issues photo-ID to allow use of its services has no right to enforce verification of that ID then where does that leave us?

"Brian, I wonder how many of your bigoted estimations are similarly "well known". "Everyone knows..." - you don't know anything.

Regardless of people's various opinions about the niqab, to suggest that it's of Pakistani origin is patently absurd!

What a pathetic answer.
Willful in your wish to misinterpret the points made and to be frank leaving yourself looking a bit foolish.

I thought it was pretty well known that there is no religious need to wear a veil? Are you saying there is?
I think the choice to wear a full veil is a fairly extreme choice to make and not a choice that fits willingingly with the vast makority of Scottish people.

Where in the post from Brian Quinn does he suggest that the Veil originated in Pakistan?

Just to give an example of how bad the trolling has gotten on this site, the above comments by "Brian" and "Alan" are from the same IP address and therefore there are very good odds that they are the same person. Good to see they agree with each other.

Angus McFalane, Alisatair McDonald (sic), Billy Blake and Thomas Cochrane have also happen to have been commenting from this IP address on archived posts in the last few days.